


The New Normal

by silver_drip



Series: Treasures of Asgard [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Amorality, Bullying, Dragon Tony Stark, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-27 14:38:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19014937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/pseuds/silver_drip
Summary: Steve tries to adjust to his new life.





	The New Normal

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you for ThePhoenixandTheDragon for their comment helping shape this chapter~

* * *

The homesickness hit Steve almost immediately, but for which home he wasn't sure. Asgard looked like the type of place his mother described in stories, yet that was of little comfort. He had lost his life when he went on ice, now he had lost his world.

After being sucked up by what he learned later was called the Bifrost, guards bedecked in golden armor escorted him to barracks. 

The sick feeling in his stomach only grew thicker when he was shoved inside without a word given to him about his new situation. 

Before he could even contemplate what to do with himself he was shoved again, this time towards a cot and then was kitted with second-hand metal armor that looked ill-fitting. He drew the eyes of the alien warriors. 

“That has to be the ugliest shield I’ve seen this side of the river. Bet some dwarf tricked you into it!” a man in the cot across from his said. Others laughed. Steve wanted to defend himself, his shield, but didn’t know what to say. 

In less than an hour he realized this was not the company he wanted to keep. For one thing, all the soldiers kept talking about wetting their swords with blood and how much they looked forward to plundering. They were all bullies and after realizing he had no interest in war he became the butt of jokes. He dreaded how much worse it would be when they found out he wasn’t from Asgard. Their blind nationalism and lust for war scared him. 

And now he was supposed to be one of them. 

He had done this to save the world, but now they wanted him to go against everything Steve stood for. He worried that if he went back on his word, Asgard would unleash its fury on Earth. 

*

The first few days he was made to run drills. He’d never even held a sword before and it showed. The bullying became relentless and for the first time since the serum was administered, he fought someone stronger than him. He was laid out flat on his ass. Every memory of the back-alley beatdowns he’d had made him feel like he was choking—And there was no Bucky to save him this time. 

They laughed at him. Things just became worse. Amongst the Asgardians he was once again the frail, pitiful person. 

Steve kept questioning why he’d even be seen as payment for saving the Earth when the Asgardian warriors were so much stronger. It almost felt like a joke, the final insult in a life full of defeats. 

When he fell behind in drills he’d spend dinnertime shining armor and sharpening weapons. Days were spent getting shoved around. They had all been raised on how to use a sword. Steve didn’t stand a chance against them.

Then his shield went missing. He told the commander of the barrack, but he dismissed him outright. 

His already fractured life felt like it shattered. 

Then, only a week into his gruelling new reality, he was summoned to the palace.

*

Steve had been stuffed into leather and metal armor that actually fit him. He was warned repeatedly that if they were damaged,  _ he  _ would become damaged. 

He arrived in the morning and was made to wait. There were civilians in the antechamber. He spoke to a few of them and felt any kindling hope that Asgardians weren’t all warmongers being extinguished. They all seemed to love the new queen and how she was ‘bringing Asgard back to its former glory’. It seemed to be the only thing anyone talked about, other than the relationship between Loki and Tony. Many were amazed that the crown prince charmed a dragon. They saw it as almost a blessing, a promise that Asgard would prosper and destroy any foe it faced. 

Hunger gnawed at him by early evening when he still hadn’t been allowed into the palace proper. By the time he was brought to the throne room, he just wanted it to be over with. 

Yet again he was made to wait. 

He had a position near the back of the throne room, but had a good view of the proceedings.

Queen Hela wasn’t what he expected. From the way the warriors spoke of her, he’d expected her to be bulky with muscles and more than one visible scar. Yet she nearly looked delicate it comparison. If not for the way she held herself, he would have mistaken her for a normal person, or as normal as an Asgardian could be. 

The way she dealt with those that petitioned her was smooth and straight to the point. She didn’t mince her words. She was heard. And she did it all effortlessly. 

For a moment, Steve admired her. Even when he led his group during WWII, none of them listened to him with their full attention and acceptance that they did with her.  

He got caught up in the way she spoke, the way she leaned forward on the throne and seemed to loom over even the tallest warrior. He always thought of monarchy as a faulty idea, but now he could see what it meant to be royalty. She was… almost intoxicating.

The thought scared Steve. 

The uphill battle that he'd been envisioning to curb their lust for war now seemed impossible. Even if he could could change minds he'd never be able to change her.

Hela's very presence made him feel small, and in some way it was hypnotizing. 

When he was called up to pledge his loyalty, he was a blushing mess.

Then she laughed at him and he felt something twist inside him, something perverse and that he'd only felt when Peggy had shot at him. 

He didn't want to name the feeling though. If he did he'd have to accept that he was far from normal.

*

Thor felt a sort of bone deep fatigue. The world was moving around him so fast. He felt like a bystander, like he was apart from it, but knew that wasn’t the case. Soon enough he would be sent into dishonorable combat, made to lead a force thats sole-purpose was to destroy and plunder. 

He wanted to flee this new fate that his younger self would have relished in, but he couldn’t. He had a duty to Asgard. He had to try, try again to change Hela’s course of action.

He wouldn’t let Asgard become steeped in blood and death—Yet all those around him were flushed with excitement, as he would have been before he met Jane. 

Thor wished he could bottle up her brilliance and compassion to give to all of Asgard, but it was impossible, doubly so since she refused to see him. The news that they had been turned immortal and wouldn’t be allowed to go back to Midgard had not been received well, not that Thor could blame them. Jane had confined herself in one of the guest quarters. 

At least Darcy still spoke to him, but she was convinced she could seduce Heimdall into letting her go back to Midgard. Thor didn’t have the heart to tell her of his famous absenance, both by choice and inborne disinterest.  

Thor had spoken to Loki, trying to rekindle his distaste for battle. Before Jane, Thor had seen it as a weakness, of proof that his brother was not quite right. Now he knew better. Yet their roles seemed to have switched. Loki now craved violence while Thor preached restraint. 

Thor wasn’t sure if this change was brought on by Loki’s revelation of his origins or madness caused by Thor’s years of bullying. Perhaps both. 

Queen Hela and Tony only stoked Loki’s need for destruction. He wanted to steal Loki away, to speak to each other as they once did as children, but Loki had no interest in him. His every waking moment was spent either in the clutches of the dragon, or in Hela’s company. 

Thor wished he could ask his friends for help, but that was another quandary he had to face. Queen Hela agreed to release one of his friends, but then another one each 300 years. How was Thor supposed to choose one friend over another?

Volstagg had a wife and children waiting for him, but that didn’t make his life somehow more valuable than the rest. He was also the oldest by far, having originally been Thor’s personal guard when he was growing up. He had passed the prime of his life while his other friends were in theirs. 

Hogun was a nobleborn Vanir. Keeping him imprisoned could cause strife with Vanaheim’s nobility. He was also a loner and possibly the one who would survive being in solitude for years best. 

Sif’s only parent, her mother, was ill and could die any day. Also, her brother, Heimdall, could petition for her release, though that could go either way. Thor wasn’t certain how Hela regarded the gatekeeper that had been one of the few to know of her existence yet did nothing. 

Frandral was mostly unattached, not having set down roots beyond with Thor and their friends. He had a strained relationship with his parents and hadn’t spoken to them in centuries. But all that didn’t make him less worthy of being free. 

Thor dreaded making the decision and wished it was out of his hands. There was no way he could avoid hurting his friends.

At least tonight he had a distraction, one he didn’t want. He’d been ordered to attend dinner.

In his chambers he looked at the formal armor he once wore proudly. Would he be chastised for just wearing his cloth and formal leathers? The idea of putting on armor, even just decorative, sickened him. He took a chance, wanting to show his defiance in anyway, and didn’t wear his armor. 

When he left his chambers, ghoul guards watched him with glowing eyes. The palace felt so cold, devoid of life. 

He heard Loki’s laughter before he entered the feasting hall. It saddened Thor when he first realized Loki had stopped laughing like that once Thor and his friends started disparaging him.  

The feasting hall was different now. The sprawling tables had been replaced with a spindly table. It sat six at most and was dark compared to the golden walls. 

He held back his frown at seeing Tony. He was whispering something into Loki’s ear. How was Thor supposed to change Loki’s mind when he was so entwined with Tony? With a being that was stronger than all of Yggdrasil’s forces combined. 

Hela was at the head of the table. Her blue eyes were sharp and focused on the blond man that Thor recognised after a moment’s thought. The Midgardian who’d bargained away his freedom. He was nobler than anyone Thor had ever met. He also seemed to be huddled in his seat. 

Thor sat by Captain America, not remembering his real name. 

Food and drinks were served. Thor’s mouth watered for mead, but Loki or Hela had cast a spell on him that made all alcohol feel like fire on his tongue. He could no longer escape into a drunken daze. 

“Why am I here?” the Midgardian asked boldly, looking at Hela. “You said you want me to be a soldier, but I’m weak compared to your people. That can’t be your real reason.” 

Hela was holding up her goblet, lips reddened by wine. She glanced to Tony. 

He smiled and Loki laughed. Tony leaned forward, across from the Midgardian at the table. “The troops are restless, but still not ready for battle. You are a plaything to them, an inferior being for them to take out their aggression as they train.” Tony shrugged slightly. “It’s as simple as that.” 

Captain America’s face turned red then flat white. “You’re all just a bunch of bullies,” he said.

Thor wanted to protest, to say he wasn’t like the others, but what reason did he have to believe him? 

Thor had been nearly useless during the incursion on Midgard. He was now second in line to the throne, merely a spare. The goodwill he’d built up as the golden prince was nothing compared to the renewed memories of their bloodstained war-hero princess, now queen. 

"Please," Thor found himself saying. " Please don't do this."

There was a stillness in the room, a breath Thor couldn't let out. 

Hela set down her goblet, the  _ clack _ almost making Thor flinch. "Don't do what?"

He recognized the look in her eyes. He'd seen it a handful of times in Loki's. He hadn't understood it before, but now knew it was the calm before the storm. 

And like a child, he was cowed. 

The Midgardian shifted awkwardly in his seat before he pulled his shoulders back. “I don’t condone this, but if you all stay away from Earth, I’ll fulfil any role you want me to.” 

Hela’s smile was sharp, merciless. “Good boy.”

*

It was a strange feeling. Things were actually going according to Loki’s plan. Such an occurrence had once been impossible whenever Thor was involved. 

So when his mother asked him to stay back after they’d finished eating, he wasn’t worried. 

“How goes things with Tony?” The question was innocent enough that he didn’t notice how carefully she worded her question. 

Loki took in a deep breath and smiled. “They are going well. I have found that there is never enough time in the day to spend together. He is witty and we have spent many a night talking about the chaos we have unleashed. I find myself enjoying his mind and how he challenges me.” 

“Undoubtedly good news. He was always a mystery to me when I was growing up.” She clicked her nails against the chair armrests. “I had been hasty when endorsing that you two meet. It gladdens me to see that you two have found each other to be to your liking.” Her lips became a thin line. “However, I must ask if you are grounding too much of your identity in being his lover.” 

Loki blinked. He mulled over her words. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Was it not the loss of self when you learned you weren’t Odin’s child or even a pureblood Asgardian the reason you nearly broke?” She gestured at him. “Look at your clothes. You adorn yourself in dragon motifs.” 

Loki took stock of his appearance. His overcoat was designed to look scaled. He wore clawed rings. He was even incorporating the dark red of Tony’s scales in his garb. 

Loki licked his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. “I… like the way I look. My identity doesn’t hinge on him.” His voice became more confident. “I have learned more about myself in the short amount of time Odin has been dead than when he was alive. My value is not how others see me, not that I’m a prince, or where I came from.” He sat a bit straighter, a small grin gracing his lips. “I am a mage that strives to learn and do more. I have a new family that doesn’t degrade me for being who I am. My fate is in my own hands now, and I won’t let anyone control me anymore.” 

Hela’s smile was brighter than the sun. She stood and he followed suit. “I am so happy for you, Loki.” She pulled him into a hug that was more comforting than anything he’d ever felt before. She truly cared for him without ulterior motives, she didn’t hold back. 

Loki nearly cried with joy. Instead, he kissed her on the cheek and went to find Tony to share his newest happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> This one kinda felt transitiony. 
> 
> I plan for the next piece to have quite the sensual scene between Loki and Tony...


End file.
